1. Field of the Invention
With regard to the classification of art, this invention is believed to be found in the general class entitled Agitating and more particularly to those subclasses pertaining to methods for using mixing chambers that rotate relative to a support.
2. Description of Related Art
Vee-type and conical-type blenders are known in the prior art. Each of these types of blenders utilizes a blending chamber that is rotated about an axis. The vee-blender is made of two cylindrical chambers that are abutted and joined in the form of a "V". The mixing or blending occurs as the material flows into and away from the common joint during rotation. The conical blender is generally comprised of two cones that are joined at their largest diameter. Mixing or blending of materials occurs, in this type of apparatus, as the material alternately flows from one cone to the other during rotation.
The above mentioned type of blenders are commercially available. However most of the known blenders are very large and therefore require that the mixing or blending chambers be more or less permanently mounted on the rotating axis. This type of arrangement also requires that the chambers be completely cleaned between the blending of dissimilar batches of product. U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,242, that issued to Bohle on Oct. 04, 1988, discloses a mixing apparatus that uses interchangeable blending containers. The apparatus disclosed in this patent requires manual intervention. That manual intervention may include the following: A) the containers must be manually secured to the lifting apparatus; and B) the mixing elements must be manually removed during the charging process then reinserted for mixing.
There has been determined that there is a need for a blending method that would increase the productivity of the process line. The needed blending equipment should have easily removable and interchangeable blending chambers and be adapted for automatic operation with a minimum of manual intervention. It is also desirable that the support portion of the blending apparatus be adaptable for use in other production operations. It is also a requirement that the interchangeable chambers be easily charged and provide a substantially homogeneous mix. A homogeneous mix is attained by the efficient cross blending of the material. It is also desired that the equipment provide other functions such as automatic discharge into supply reservoirs of pill molding machinery. The needed method should also be adaptable for the movement of the blending container from a loading position to at least one subsequent discharge position. The present invention provides a method for solving the above identified needs.